Bowl games

By Dennis Clayton
This week we have the pairings for the 35 bowls that our college teams will be participating in and if you would like an opportunity to win a cash prize of $150, by all means fill out the game form and join in the fun. It is of no cost or obligation to you and this is just a game for our readers to play and attempt to match wits with other readers all the while trying to figure out how to guess the winners of the yearly bowls, which tend to always have a good number of upsets.
That’s my sales pitch for this column, now on to the bowl games themselves and some of the questions and issues that tend to be discussed each year.
We always hear the discussion that we have too many bowl games and that may be the case. We need to remember that the games are to reward the players, coaches and schools as one of the primary purposes. There will be a lot of underclassmen that will get a lot of reps in practice leading up to the bowl game and some might see action during the actual contest.
Another plus of playing in a bowl is the area of recruiting. Every high school prospect that is being courted by these major colleges wants to play in a bowl. I mean, it is no fun sitting at home watching your rival play on television. Ask any State of Ole Miss fan about it. This year both again have the privilege enjoying the bowl experience and again, that’s a major key to recruiting more players to help you get back in the bowl picture.
There will be some major blowouts during the bowl games and there are indeed some games that are not the least bit interesting to even some of the most dedicated and hardcore fans. However, we will witness games that will keep us on the edge of our seats and others that will leave us scratching our heads asking “How did that happen?”
So in closing, watch the games, try to enjoy the games, support your teams and think of the players involved and the fact that no matter the bowl or the match-up, this is a big deal to them and for them. Be a fan and support the players and institutions they represent.
Follow Dennis Clayton on Twitter: @denclayton.

About Dennis Clayton

I cover high school sports in Union County and occasionally contribute sports articles to sister community newspapers of Journal Inc. I have lived in Union County my entire life and strive to use my articles to promote our players, teams and schools. Follow me on Twitter: @denclayton for scores and updates on our local high school teams.